INTERNATIONAL MARITIME LAW: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW

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INTERNATIONAL MARITIME LAW WHAT YOU NEED TO
KNOW Perspective and Participation of
Non-Governmental Organizations
A. William Moreira, Q.C.Past President, Canadian
Maritime Law Association
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INTERNATIONAL MARITIME ORGANIZATION

• UN Specialized Agency created 1948, commenced
  operations 1959
• Members are 168 Member States
• Specialist Committees include Legal Committee,
  created 1968
• 68 NGOs granted Consultative Status at IMO, about
  15 actively participate in Legal Committees work
• One of the consultative NGOs is Comité Maritime
  International (CMI)

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COMITÉ MARITIME INTERNATIONAL

• Created at Antwerp 1897
• Members are 51 national Maritime Law Associations
• Consultative Members of CMI include two
  intergovernmental organizations, IMO and IOPC
  Fund
• Honourary individual members
• Governed by elected Executive Council, most of
  whom are practising maritime lawyers
• Headquartered at Antwerp

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COMITÉ MARITIME INTERNATIONAL (Contd)

• The lawyer should hold the pen the practical
  man should dictate the solutions Louis
  Franck
• At inception, CMI claimed as members
  representatives of all aspects of maritime
  commerce over time it has become dominated by
  lawyers
• CMI bases its work on the broadest possible
  consensus among the international maritime
  community, including industry, the legal
  profession, and governments

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COMITÉ MARITIME INTERNATIONAL (Contd)

• Object
• To contribute by all appropriate means and
  activities to the unification of maritime law in
  all its aspects
• Specific mandate to co-operate with other
  international organizations.
• Long-standing and close relationship with Legal
  Committee since 1969
• Offers private practitioner and commercial
  perspectives to an essentially public-policy
  driven body
• Presently working also with other UN specialized
  agencies including UNCITRAL and UNESCO

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COMITÉ MARITIME INTERNATIONAL (Contd)

• From 1910 to 1969, worked with Belgian government
  to produce 22 so-called Brussels Conventions
• Examples
• Collision (1910)
• Hague Rules (1924, amended 1968)
• Arrest of Seagoing Ships (1952)
• In addition, CMI remains custodian of
  York-Antwerp Rules, purely private instrument
  regulating general average

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COMITÉ MARITIME INTERNATIONAL (Contd)

• Work with IMO Legal Committee
• Commenced with Legal Committees inception 1969
• Participated in preparation of CLC 1969
• Active and continuous participation including
• Fund Convention 1971, and amendments
• Athens Convention on Passengers 1974, and
  amendments
• Limitation of Liability Convention 1976, and
  amendment
• Salvage Convention 1989
• Bunkers Convention 2001
• Wreck Removal Convention 2007

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WRECK REMOVAL CONVENTION 2007

• First considered as part of Torrey Canyon
  response in 1969, deferred at that time
• Returned later to Legal Committee work program,
  led by Netherlands, Germany and UK delegations to
  Legal Committee
• CMI created International Working Group in 1996,
  reported to Legal Committee October 1996. Review
  of CMI members national laws governing wreck
  removal in the territorial sea
• CMI at Legal Committee request produced 2004
  analysis of draft Conventions compatibility with
  Salvage Convention and other existing
  international instruments
• CMI assisted with 2007 debate which ultimately
  led to opt-in provision regarding Conventions
  application in territorial sea

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COMMENTS ON WRECK REMOVAL CONVENTION 2007

• Follows now-established model in liability
  conventions of shipowner strict liability,
  compulsory insurance and right of direct action
  against insurer, with important unique
  exceptions
• No stand-alone limitation of amount of liability
• Claimants limited to coastal state public
  authorities
• Concern with potential lack of uniformity in
  coastal state application
• Liability provisions are practically engaged upon
  coastal state determination that specific wreck
  is a hazard
• Determination at coastal state discretion, with
  insufficient binding guidance provided in the
  instrument itself regarding application of the
  Article 6 criteria

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INTERNATIONAL MARITIME LAW WHAT YOU NEED TO
KNOW Perspective and Participation of
Non-Governmental Organizations
Thank you